The present invention relates to a system for retaining and displaying a piece of material, and more specifically to a piece of fabric which in encapsulated with a specially adapted surround so that the fabric may be adhered to another member and be retained thereon without being damaged, such as by fraying, and a method of creating the same.
Systems and methods for displaying pieces of material are known. Such systems and methods are often used, for example, to create appliquxc3xa9s on clothing or other fabric material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,943 to Stahl provides an appliquxc3xa9 made of laminated fabric having stitching, an upper woven blank, and a lower woven blank that has a shape that is larger and complementary to the shape of the upper woven blank and of a contrasting color so that a contrasting color is visible on the lower blank attached to the garment. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,783 to Mahn provides thermoplastic pre-die cut designs with molded relief patterns, sublimation printing, and adhered layers. However, a disadvantage of the systems disclosed in these references is that the pieces of material are simply bonded together by stitching, adhesives or the like. As such, the edges of the pieces are exposed, and may become damaged or frayed with extended handling. Therefore, it is necessary that certain types of materials be used which are particularly tough and damage resistant, and the systems are not appropriate for all materials, such as standard clothing fabrics.
Appliquxc3xa9s and laminates which include trapped portions of foam are also known. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,629,034, 3,629,035 and 4,160,685 to Kuroda disclose three-dimensional appliquxc3xa9s having a continuous plastic cover layer, an intermediate synthetic foam layer, outer and inner bonding zones creating a relief pattern, a support or base layer, and a severed borderline. U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,587 to Barthelman provides a decal having a cover layer, a foam intermediate layer and a substrate having a relief pattern with arcuate edges. However, the trapped foam in these systems is provided only to give a raised, three-dimensional appearance to the appliquxc3xa9, and is not displayed.
Other systems are known which do trap and display a piece of material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,877 to Sloot discloses an appliquxc3xa9 for applying to garments and the like, which includes a decoratively shaped perimeter and relief pattern, a plush layer having a pre-cut periphery, and a vinyl overlay encapsulating the periphery of the pre-cut plush layer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,866 to Sloot discloses an appliquxc3xa9 for garments having multiple layers, and a decoratively shaped perimeter and relief pattern having a relatively high profile and side wall being substantially perpendicular to the plain in which the raised and lowered portions lie.
However, these appliquxc3xa9s are applied directly onto a garment or other substrate material. Thus, these systems do not allow for the creation of independent units which can be later adhered onto another member. Further, the disclosed methods which are employed to create the appliquxc3xa9s on garments or other substrates are not appropriate for creating independent units, but rather can only be used to create the appliquxc3xa9s directly onto the garments themselves.
What is desired, therefore, is a system for retaining and displaying a piece of material, which retains the piece of material within an independent unit so that it may later be adhered to another member, which retains the material securely therein, and which inhibits damage to the material retained therein, such as may be caused by fraying. A method for creating such a system which allows for the simultaneous creation of a plurality of independent units is also desired.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for retaining and displaying a piece of material, which retains the piece of material within an independent unit so that it may later be adhered to another member.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for retaining and displaying a piece of material having the above characteristics and which retains the material securely therein.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a system for retaining and displaying a piece of material having the above characteristics and which inhibits damage to the material retained therein, such as may be caused by fraying.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for creating a system for retaining and displaying a piece of material having the above characteristics, and which allows for the simultaneous creation of a plurality of independent units.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by provision of a system for retaining and displaying a piece of material which includes a piece of material having an upper surface, a lower surface, and an outer periphery. An intermediate fixation system is attached to the lower surface of the piece of material. The system also includes a lower layer having an outer periphery, an upper surface and a lower surface, with the piece of material being affixed to the upper surface of the lower layer by the intermediate fixation system. The lower layer is sized such that the outer periphery thereof extends beyond the outer periphery of the piece of material. An upper layer having an outer periphery sized such that the outer periphery of the upper layer extends beyond the outer periphery of the piece of material is sealed to the upper surface of the lower layer. The upper layer has an opening passing therethrough which is sized such that a portion of the upper layer surrounding the opening therein overlies and is sealed to the outer periphery of the piece of material on its upper surface. An adhesive layer is applied to the lower surface of the lower layer.
The adhesive layer applied to the lower surface of the lower layer may comprise a pressure sensitive adhesive. When such is the case, it is preferable that the pressure sensitive adhesive layer has a releasable backing layer applied thereto. In one preferred embodiment, the upper layer and the lower layer are formed from vinyl sheet material, and the piece of material comprises a piece of fabric material.
It is preferred that the intermediate fixation system includes an intermediate vinyl sheet layer having an upper surface and a lower surface, with the piece of material being attached to the upper surface. It is also preferable that an adhesive layer be applied to the lower surface of the intermediate vinyl layer, the adhesive layer being adhered to the upper surface of the lower layer. Most preferably, the adhesive layer applied to the lower surface of the intermediate vinyl sheet layer comprises a pressure sensitive adhesive.
A method for creating a system for retaining and displaying a piece of material is also provided. A section of material is first attached to an intermediate fixation system, and then at least one piece of material is cut from the section of material. The at least one piece of material is affixed to an upper surface of a lower layer, the lower layer having an adhesive layer attached to a lower surface thereof. Next, at least one opening is formed in an upper layer, the opening having a size smaller than the size of an outer periphery of the piece of material. The upper layer is then disposed adjacent to the lower layer with the at least one piece of material sandwiched therebetween. The upper layer is positioned with respect to the piece of material so that the portions of the upper layer surrounding the at least one opening overlie the outer periphery of the at least one piece of material. Next, the portions of the upper layer which overlie the outer periphery of the at least one piece of material are sealed to the at least one piece of material, the upper layer is sealed to the lower layer in areas surrounding the outer periphery of the at least one piece of material, and at least one finished system for retaining and displaying a piece of material is cut from surrounding portions of the upper and lower layers.
Preferably, the sealing steps are accomplished by a radio frequency sealing die, and most preferably, the sealing steps and the cutting step are performed simultaneously by such a die. It is also preferable that the step of affixing the at least one piece of material to an upper surface of a lower layer step is accomplished by attaching the at least one piece of material to an upper surface of an intermediate vinyl sheet layer having an adhesive layer applied to a lower surface thereof, and adhering the at least one piece of material to an upper surface of a lower layer with the adhesive layer. Most preferably, the adhesive layer applied to the lower surface of the intermediate vinyl sheet layer is a pressure sensitive adhesive layer having a releasable backing layer applied thereto, and wherein the releasable backing layer is removed before adhering the at least one piece of material to an upper surface of the lower layer with the adhesive layer.
In another embodiment of the inventive method, the at least one opening in the upper layer is not pre-formed. Instead, the opening is formed as part of the sealing/cutting operation.